Edge-trimmer for lawns.



(No Model.)

Patented Dec. I6, i902.

w. w. MccALL'uM.. EDGE TRIMMER FDR LAWNS.

(Application med Aug. '7, 1961.)

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

fno. 75,838. Patented 096.16, |902. w. w.--MccA|.LuM. EDGE TRIMMER FOR LAWNS.

(Application led Aug. 7, 1901.) (Nollndel.)

2 SheetsQSheet 2.

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM WARNER MCOALLUM, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

EDGE-TRIMMER FOR LAwNs.

SPECIFICATION forming* part Of Letters Patent NO. 715,838, dated December 16, 1902.

Application filed August 7, 1901. Serial No. 71,145. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM WARNER Mo- CALLUM, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Edge-Trimmers for Lawns; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention has for its object to provide a device for trimming the edges of lawns which may readily be operated to cut the edges and sharp corners around buildings and sidewalks, which would be otherwise inaccessible with the ordinary machine; and it consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts, to be fully set forth hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of my improved device, partly in section, on line l 1 of Fig. 2 and 'a portion of the handle broken away. Fig. 2' is a plan view in section on line 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a section on line 3 3 of Fig. 1, showing the driving mechanism; and Fig. 4 is a front elevation of my machine.

Referring by letters to the drawings, A represents a handle, which is secured to a bale B, that straddles the driving-wheel C of my device, said bale being centrally pivoted to a disk D, which is provided with a stud a, upon which revolves the driving-wheel C. The disk D is held against rotation by means of a springcontrolled plug d, which has its seat in one of the fork members of the bale B, and by this construction it may be readily'seen that the I handle and disk are locked together, the plug.

d fitting in either of the perforations e or e of the disk. Near the periphery of said disk is an elongated bearing for a stud E, which revolves in the latter and has secured to its inner end a pinion F, which is provided with a clutch-face f, that engages a plug g in the stud. The above construction, however, forms no part of my invention, it being the usual backing-ratchet for use in theordinary lawn-mower. A' collar and bolt h are provided at the end of said stud to hold the pinion inits position. At the outer end of said stud and forming part thereof is a luted camwheel G, which engages a pair of lugs i, said lugs projecting from a plate which is pivoted at j to the knife H. The object of pivoting the aforesaid plate is to prevent any liability of the lugs locking the cam-wheel G when turning the sharp corners in the latter, and, as will be seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings, a stop lo is placed upon the knife to hold the pins and their plate in position, said plate oscillating upon its pivotj at each change of angle in the cam-wheel.

By the above construction it is obvious that the knife is rapidly oscillated on its pivot-bolt I when the machine is put in motion.

The disk D has projecting from its face, near the periphery of the latter, a rib J, to which is bolted the shear-plate K, on which a knife is pivoted and oscillates. Interposed between said knife and nut Z of the pivot-bolt I is placed a at spring, which bears upon the outer edge of the knife and presses the latter down against the fingers k of the shear-plate for the purpose of making a perfectly-clean cut. The tension-ot' this spring may be adjusted by means of the nut Z. As best shown in Fig. 2, these fingers taper at a less angle than the fingers 'm of the knife, so that amore perfect shear cutis obtained,the cutting edges of the knives being beveled downward, while those of the shear-plate are beveled in an upward direction.

The driving-wheel C, as shown, has an internal gear of the ordinary lawn-mower construction for driving the pinion upon the camwheel stud E.

As shown in Fig. l, the handle of my device projects in the opposite direction from the front of the machine, it being the usual position for pushing the latter when trimming the straight edges of the lawn; but in some cases there will occur sharp jags or angles close to a building or fence, where it would be impossible to operate the machine with the handle in this position. In this case it would only be necessary to pull out the plug against the spring-pressure from the perforation e and turn the handle over to the perforation e', when the ,plug would automatically seat itself in the'i latter and lock the disk D and handle A in this reversed position, so that the operator may now pull the IOO machine forward instead of push, and thus reverse the respective positions of the operator and the device.

Another advantage of my device is that by using a single wheel and having the knives projecting from the stationary disk the operator may readily push the machine over any obstacles by tilting the handle to one side or the other, as the case may be, thus making it possible to cut all edges of the lawn -as readily as with an ordinary pair of shears without any inconvenience to the operator and in half the time.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a lawn-trimmer, a stationary disk; a handle adjustably secured to the latter; a driving-wheel upon the disk; a cam projecting from one side of said disk and having a pinion upon the opposite side thereof in gear connection with the driving-wheel; a shearplate projecting from the stationary disk below the cam-wheel; a knife pivoted to the shear-plate with a pivoted spring bearing down upon its cutting edge; a plate pivoted to the knife; lugs projecting from the plate for engagement with the cam-wheel, and a stop for the plate upon the knife, whereby, when the latter is reciprocated by the cam-wheel in either direction itwill limit the motion of the plate, substantially as set forth.

2. In alawn-trimmer, astationary disk having perforations therein, a handle having a spring-plug for engagement with the perforations in the latter, a driving-wheel upon the disk, a cam-wheel projecting from one side of said disk and having a pinion upon the opposite side thereof in gear connection with the driving-wheel, a shear-plate projecting from the stationary disk below the cam-Wheel, a knife pivoted to the shear-plate with a pivoted spring bearing down upon its cutting edge, a plate pivoted to the knife, lugs projecting from the plate for engagement with the cam-Wheel and a stop for the plate upon the knife, whereby when the latter is reciprocated by the cam-Wheel in either direction it will limit the motion of the plate, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In a lawn-trimmer, a stationary disk, a handle adjustably secured to the latter, a driving-wheel upon the disk having an internal gear, a fluted cam projecting from one side of said disk and having a pinion upon the opposite side thereof in gear connection with the driving-wheel, a shear-plate projecting from the stationary disk below the camwheel, a knife pivoted to the shear-plate with a pivoted spring bearing down upon its cutting edge, a plate pivoted to the knife, lugs projecting from the plate for engagement with the cam-wheel, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM WARNER MCCALLUM.

Witnesses:

MARIE RIETvELT, L. A. THoMPsoN. 

